Lisbon: Manuel Neuer was destined to be a footballer. Gifted with a football at the age of two and he played his first match at the age of four, 24 days before his fifth birthday. Then he attended the Gesamtschule Berger Feld, like many other German players — Mesut Ozil and Julian Draxler — and broke into the circuit in 2006, with his boyhood club FC Schalke 04. The journey of greatness begun.
Germany has always produced world-class goalkeepers with the likes of Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehman, who were a part of the 2002 and 2006 German World Cup sides respectively. They were like a wall under the German goal. With both hanging their gloves in 2008, Germany were desperate for a top-class goalkeeper before the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Robert Anke was the first choice but tragedy arrived when he committed suicide in November 2009. Maybe every dark side has some light in the corner and Neuer was that light for the Germans. After a good performance for his club, Neuer was the obvious choice to represent the Germans in the World Cup and the world witnessed a wall under the German goal.
His antiques were different than other keepers, reflexes were top-notch. Although Germany lost to Spain in the semifinals, they were confident that their goalkeeping department was under safe hands. The big move in Neuer’s career came when he joined Bayern Munich in 2011.
Schalke fans called him a traitor in a match against Bayern Munich. But Neuer knew that dedication and hard work can make him the best in the eyes of the opposing fans too and the world witnessed another Neuer antique in the 2012 Champions League semifinal. Against Real Madrid, Neuer went super-human saving the spot-kick of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kàka, earning the nickname of ‘The German Wall’.
The best trophy-winning season was yet to come for the German. In 2012-13 season Bayern Munich won the treble for the first time in their long term history. Neuer had a superb season with the Bundesliga giants as he proved to be the best in the world from that time.
This nucleus of Munich helped Germany to achieve a World Cup in 2014 and with a stellar performance throughout the World Cup, Neuer received the Golden Gloves, previously received by his predecessor Kahn in 2002. His performance in the World Cup showed how much capable player he has become in the past four years since the 2010 World Cup.
Introduction of Pep Guardiola in Bayern Munich saw a new rise of Neuer. He was being used as a ‘sweeper-keeper’. It means defending by rushing towards the player who has beaten the offside trap. Even starting the attack of the side by playing short passes with the defence. This made Neuer more difficult to break and as he was tipped by experts that he can play as a midfielder too by seeing his antiques during the match.
2018 was the darkest year in Neuer’s career. He was the first German goalkeeper after Oliver Kahn to captain his national team in a FIFA World Cup. It went very poorly as his side was out of the group stage followed by a shocking Champions League round of 16 exit against Liverpool. Experts said, ‘Manuel Neuer is over’. But as we have mentioned before this guy loves to face newer challenges. At the age of 34, he still had to prove, why he was still the best goalkeeper in the World.
The 2019-20 season started on a bad note for Bayern. They couldn’t dominate the way they used to in Germany showing some concerns within the team which led to the sacking of manager Niko Kovač. But if your team is filled with Champions it will always make a comeback. The comeback has been tremendously strong, as Bayern Munich won the treble again after seven years thus making them only the second team after Barcelona to achieve it.
And yes their captain, leader, legend played a pivotal role in making this possible. His saves in the Champions League final against PSG proved how much was still left in him at the age of 34. He is now on the history books among players like Xavi, Iniesta, Pique and his teammate Thomas Muller who has won the World Cup and also the treble twice. He has now joined the list of treble-winning captains like Xavi, Philip Lahm, Carles Puyol and first goalkeeper-captain after Manchester United’s Peter Schmeichel (1999) to win a treble.
The 6’3″ goalkeeper was already in the history books of Germany and the latest inclusion of the treble made his legacy strong for the future generations. No glamour, No hype just pure result of hard work and dedication. He is and will remain one of those legends with very minimal haters. Thus making him ‘The Great Wall of Deutschland’.
